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The Green Goddess, Vol. 11

Jun 19th 2013

June is a National Dairy Month, and having been a big ice-cream fan my whole life, I thought this could be a perfect blog to share my tips and tricks for healthy and delicious milks, ice creams, cheeses and yogurts that are good for you and for the environment.

Because many of my clients are going dairy-free to improve their health and/or to create a smaller environmental footprint, I did my due diligence and found fantastic brands that have great guilt-free treats that won't weigh you down!

For guilt-free ice cream, I recommend the brand So Delicious. Some of my favorite varieties are Coconut Milk and Cookie Dough Ice Cream as well as Chocolate-Almond Covered Ice Cream bars. As a bonus, this ice cream has coconut oil in it, which has shown to aid weight loss and boost immunity. Who says dairy-free is depriving?

Many people have heard about the benefits of probiotics (good bacteria) that is found in yogurt, but not all yogurts are created equal. To take the health benefits up another notch, I use the So Delicious Greek Coconut Yogurt, which provides your body with that healthy bacteria and those fabulous healthy coconut fats. This yogurt is so good that I even used it in my Light Tiramisu video recipe (It does contain gluten, and the Non-GMO Lady Finger Cookies do have egg).

If you are looking for a good milk substitute to use in your cereal, coffee or smoothies, I prefer to go with the Sweetened Vanilla Almond Milk by almondbreeze.com. For a mere 80 calories in a cup (skim milk has 103), you get delicious taste as well as 45 percent of the daily recommended calcium, 50 percent of your daily recommended vitamin E and 25 percent of the daily recommended of Vitamin D. Best of all, this brand now has individual packs, so you can pack them with to-go lunches for yourself or your kids!

Non-Dairy Light Tiramisu

1 Container of Coconut Greek Yogurt, Vanilla Flavor

1 Teaspoon Liquid Organic Vanilla

1 Teaspoon Coconut Nectar or Agave Syrup

1 Teaspoon Stevia

8 lady fingers

½ Cup Good Quality Coffee

1 Tablespoon Cacao Powder

Step 1: Mix the first 4 ingredients in a bowl.

Step 2: Layer 4 lady fingers on the bottom of a serving dish. Drizzle some coffee, depending on your preference of how soaked you like your dessert to be.

Step 3: Scoop the yogurt mixture and place half of it on top of the lady fingers.

About Alina Z.Alina Z., aka “The Green Goddess,” is a certified holistic health coach, detox specialist and raw-food chef (she conducts occasional classes at Whole Foods in Boca). Prior to moving to Florida, Alina hosted her own TV show in Maryland—“Entertaining A to Z”—for people who didn’t have time to cook but wanted to eat healthy. Catch one of her web episodes at eHow.com, visit Alina’s website at alinazhealthcoach.com, or follow her on Facebook (facebook.com/fabulousfoodAZ) or Twitter (@FabulousFood). The Green Goddess blog runs every other Wednesday at bocamag.com.